I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid absorbent and deodorizing composition and a method for achieving deodorization and dehydration of an odorous liquid. More particularly, the invention relates to an animal litter composition and a method for deodorizing and dehydrating the animal waste liquid produced by animal excretion and excrement. The field of use is primarily for domesticated animal pets, particularly, but not exclusively, those of the feline species.
II. Description of the Prior Art
The increase in animal pet population the world over and particularly in the United States has led to an increasing use of animal litter materials. This has demonstrated the need for an improved and effective litter product that is practical and economical.
There are numerous animal litter products suggested in the prior art, some of which are commerically available today to meet the demand for an animal litter, particularly, one for domesticated pets and more especially, household pets. In many instances where pets are kept in human living quarters, animal wastes pose a very real problem that is often solved by the use of an aminal litter. Feline species of pets adapt to the use of a litter easily, and canine and other pets apparently can be trained successfully to do likewise.
The animal litter products that have been heretofore suggested or which are available commercially have found some success; however, the cost of many of these products as well as their effectiveness in deodorizing and dehydrating the animal waste liquid derived from both animal excretion and excrement has left much to be desired. Many of the prior litter materials are part of the natural resources and are either limited in quantity or becoming less economically suitable for such use.
Ideally the most useful animal litter composition would be one that utilizes industrial or agricultural process waste materials. The effective use of industrial or agricultural process waste materials would ease the requirements upon an already overburdened waste disposal system. The desired animal litter product must also exhibit effective and rapid deodorization upon coming in contact with the animal's waste liquid in both excretion and excrement and obviously the animal litter must be harmless to the animal. There should also be no adherence of litter to the animal's fur or feet to be tracked outside of the litter area, particularly when the litter is used within a household.
Clay materials and other inorganic absorbents are well known and are presently sold commercially as animal litter, but such products, while sometimes relatively inexpensive, are not sufficiently effective or appropriate. Also these materials are not industrial or agricultural wastes and therefore their use does not alleviate the existing problems of waste disposal.
In the inventor's prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,920, the use of flyash to deodorize various organic wastes, such as animal manures including those of domestic pets, was disclosed. The resulting deodorized wastes were found useful as fertilizer compositions.
Animal litter compositions composed of granulated alfalfa are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,286,691 and 3,425,397. These compositions utilize the chorophyll in alfalfa to serve as a deodorizer when the animal waste is mixed with the litter compositions.
Another animal litter disclosure is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,581 in which pellets may be composed of finely divided powders and may include cellulosic material and various clays that are combined with a perfume agent to release a fragrance upon moisture contact.
The use of flyash alone as an animal litter would achieve a superior level of deodorization, but, unless it is pelletized or otherwise agglomerated, the dust created due to the ultra-fine particle size of the flyash would be objectionable, as would be the tracking of the flyash by the animal from the litter area. Pelletizing or otherwise compressing the flyash, which has a minute particle size, produces such a dense product that the animal waste liquid does not gain access to the interior of such a compressed product or pellet but must await a substantial period of time for seepage, thus defeating the advantages of the superior deodorizing capability of the flyash. For these and other reasons flyash has not heretofore been recognized as being useful as an efficient, effective animal litter material.
III. Objects of the Invention
The primary object of the present invention is to create an effective, efficient and useful animal litter product.
It is also an object of the present invention to create a new useful and valuable product by utilizing industrial or agricultural waste products that would otherwise impose a burden on industry for their disposal.
A further object of the invention is to use as the industrial wastes, flyash and also preferably cellulose fibers from a paper-making process to create a useful product without the use of natural resources.
This invention also has as an object the utilization of flyash in pellet form to deodorize animal waste liquid and to form discrete paths for capillary action to draw this odorous liquid into the pellet below the surface to increase contact with the flyash for quicker deodorization and dehydration.